


Who's saving whom?

by VengeanceAngel



Series: Whump is for Winners [7]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Almost Dying, Billy Hargrove Needs a Hug, Bottom Steve Harrington, Dehydration, Description of medical treatments, Domestic Violence, Explosion, Fever, Hospital Setting, Hostage Situation, Hurt Billy Hargrove, Kidnapping, M/M, Panic Attacks, Some Fluff, Stab Wound, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Top Billy Hargrove, Unconscious, Whumptober 2019, future setting, injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-07 23:44:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20984399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VengeanceAngel/pseuds/VengeanceAngel
Summary: Billy and Steve meet up again 5-7 years after Hawkins High School is finished with them. But their meetings aren't under the best of circumstances and not everyone is always conscious for them.Whumptober 2019 prompts for chapter 1 are: 2. Explosion, 8. Stab Wound, 10. Unconscious, and from the Alt List: 3. Fever and 4. DehydrationBilly whump is Chapter 1, Steve whump is Chapter 2, and fluff is Chapter 3. Enjoy!





	Who's saving whom?

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoy my whump and hopefully this doesn't disappoint. For those of you who are leaving me comments, I am going to get to them, I promise. I've just been slammed with stuff lately and I am trying to get some of my writing finished. Fingers crossed, I might be able to do something by Monday. :)

The first time Steve sees Billy again, it’s in the middle of flu season. 

Steve washes his hands for what feels like the millionth time tonight. Flu season is no joke and he’s seen more than his fair share of people come through his emergency room today. He turns as Constance, one of the night nurses, calls his name. 

“Steve, we’ve got three more coming in. One of them is a cop. Dropped over at the station. They’re asking us to make him a priority, as a courtesy.”

Steve smirks. “Tell them we’ll do our best.”

“You want the chart?”

“Nope.” He walks off to see his next patient. He’s never been one for putting anyone in front of someone else just because they work with each other. As far as he’s concerned, everyone is equal when they walk in and he’ll treat them that way until they walk out and life will have at them. 

He makes his way through the list of people and works with the doctor to get at least five people admitted. Two are elderly, one is developmentally disabled and unable to care for himself at his level of illness and the other two are children, one of which is only three months old and in need of constant monitoring. 

Steve sighs and rests his eyes for a moment when he hears a commotion at the desk. He walks up to see what’s going on. He sees Constance arguing with a police officer and immediately knows what this is probably about. He places a hand on Constance’s shoulder. “I’ve got it. Check on the woman in area three. We’re admitting the baby and I think she could use some support.” He smiles at her encouragingly as she leaves and then turns to the very angry man in uniform. “Can I help you?”

“You a doctor?”

“No, sir. I-“

“Are you another fucking nurse? I’ve been talking to that other one for more than an hour now and I haven’t gotten anywhere so you find me a fucking doctor. I got nothing to say to you.”

Steve nods his head. “Of course.” He looks around and sees exactly who he’s looking for. “Dr. Lane! Can you come here for a moment, sir?”

An older man with silver hair and a fierce look in his eyes stomps over and looks at the uniformed officer. “What’s going on here, Steve?”

“Oh, this gentleman wants to speak with a doctor.”

Dr. Lane frowns and looks at Steve. “Are you serious right now?”

Steve smiles. “As a heart attack.”

The doctor gives Steve a fond look and then turns back to the officer. “What?”

The officer stands up straighter. “One of my men collapsed at work this evening and I sent him here along with a request that he be seen immediately. It’s been four hours! I want to know who is in charge here and who can give me some answers!”

Dr. Lane nods. “That would be the Emergency Department Nursing Director.”

“Great, where is he?”

Dr. Lane rolls his eyes. “You were just talking to him.” He glances at Steve. “Can I go now?”

Steve smiles. “Of course, Dr. Lane. Thank you for your assistance.” He watches the older man leave and then turns back to the officer. “As I was saying, I’m not a doctor. I’m the emergency services director. So, is there anything I can help you with?”

“You’re not… You’re a kid!”

Steve shakes his head. “Not exactly. And you rise to the top pretty quick around here when you’ve got a violent crime happening on every corner and nobody else wanting the perks of this comfy job. Now, your man was brought in here and given water and told to let someone know if he was struggling with keeping the water down. He didn’t talk to anyone and when one of my nurses checked in on him, he told her that he was doing well on his own and would continue to wait. So… he is next on my list to get to a room. Do you want to keep talking to me about this and the lack of favoritism on my part or do you want me to treat him?”

The officer turns redder and redder as Steve speaks and then turns toward the waiting room. “Hargrove! Get your ass over here!”

Steve’s eyes widen. He’s certain that plenty of people are named Hargrove. His hopes are dashed when the young officer walks up to the desk. He looks like shit, but there is no doubt that this is Billy Hargrove from Hawkins. Steve always thought the other boy would end up in California. He certainly never thought he’d end up going further northeast up to Detroit. 

Billy is barely to the counter when his legs buckle and Steve hops over the desk and kneels down. He touches his forehead and then curses. “Idiot.” He looks up at the officer. “Your man ever lie about his condition in order to avoid a hospital?”

The man looks sheepish and shrugs. “I mean… maybe.” 

Steve sighs and yells orders until he’s finally back in an area with Hargrove and two other nurses. He has Billy’s shirt off and cold compresses up against his sides. “Jesus… this fever…”

Constance frowns. “I should have checked more carefully. He said-”

“You did what you could. If he chose not to tell you how serious his condition is, that’s on him.” He checks the other man’s skin again and sighs. “He’s too dehydrated. I want him admitted. Shit… I don’t know if they’ll have a room open anytime soon.” He looks up at the clock and sees that it’s nearly seven in the morning. “Okay, we’ll get him settled. Call up for a room and then get your ass home. I’ll stay with him so the others can work on the new folks coming in.”

Constance shakes her head. “Steve, you practically live here already. You can’t-“

“I can and I am. It’s my ER, Connie. Get out of here.” He watches the woman leave and then sits down next to Billy’s bed and closes his eyes for a few moments, but doesn’t allow himself the actual luxury of sleep. He works on Billy for awhile, changing out the compresses and switching the IV once. It isn’t until the blonde stirs that Steve finally takes a beat from his duties. He steps up and takes his pulse before taking his blood pressure. He writes the information down, along with respirations. When he looks back up, it’s into Billy Hargrove’s blue eyes. But they’re glassy and unfocused. 

“What…”

“Don’t talk right now, Mr. Hargrove. You’ve had quite a night. You were severely dehydrated and your fever was dangerously high. It’s at manageable levels now and the IV has replenished much of your fluids, but I need to make sure your kidney function is coming back to where it needs to be. I’d like to get you something so you can urinate. Would you like to try?”

Billy nods and moans as that movement seems to be too much for him. 

“I’ll be right back.” Steve leaves and takes a deep breath. “C’mon, Steve… you’re a nurse first and foremost. He needs your help. Give it to him.” After one more deep breath, he goes to the supply closet and gets what he needs. He puts in an order for blood work, signing off as one of the many doctors who tell him to do that for them anyway, and comes back in. He dons gloves and walks over to his bedside again. He uses his wrist to adjust his glasses he’s started wearing on the long nights when his vision starts to challenge him to read small print. “Can you do this yourself or do you need help?”

Billy lifts a hand. “Do it… m’self…” His hand drops to the bed and he closes his eyes. 

“Yeah… that’s a no.” He cranks the bed so Billy is sitting up a little and then maneuvers the blankets down. He wasn’t the one who changed him into the gown earlier in the night so he’s a bit more nervous than he thought he’d be. “Mr. Hargrove, I’m going to lift your gown and get you situated and I’ll tell you when to urinate. Alright?”

Billy mumbles out something that sounds like a yes and Steve goes to work. He tries not to look as he helps position the equipment, but holding Billy’s penis in his hand for even a moment causes him to blush. He tells Billy to urinate and then waits. He frowns at the small amount and takes the bottle and caps it for the lab. He cleans Billy up gently and pulls the gown down before pulling the blankets up again. He leans over him and checks his eyes, which are still glassy and unfocused. But now a tear trickles from the side and Steve can tell just how miserable his patient is. He frowns, the caregiver part of him roaring to the forefront. He wipes the tear and waits until Billy looks at him again. “I’m going to get something to help you sleep, okay? I know you’re miserable. I’ll make it better and when you wake up, hopefully you’ll be in your own room.” He smiles softly. 

Billy looks up at him, not really seeing who it is above him, but seeing enough. “You’re… pretty…”

Steve laughs at that. “Yeah…. You’re too out of it to know what you’re saying, Hargrove.” He leaves to get something and comes back to find that Billy is already asleep. He gives him the medication anyway and sits with him until his room is ready. As the orderlies wheel the blonde away, Steve sits down and looks at his watch. “No going home now.” He heads to the locker room for a shower and change of scrubs before settling onto one of the beds in the back of the locker room. He doesn’t bother getting under the covers and closes his eyes, sleep overtaking him quickly. 

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

The second time Steve sees Billy, the other man never regains consciousness in his care. 

Billy has been called to a fire to secure the area while the firefighters evacuate people from a building. The gas company arrived to shut off the gas and Billy is there to keep everything in order, along with his colleagues. 

Billy stands around with other officers and is ready to follow the orders of the firefighters who are heading in and out to evacuate people who were overcome by the smoke. Billy knows that the whole situation could be a shit show in a heartbeat, but things like this get his adrenaline pumping. Once everyone is out, he helps the firefighters and medical personnel where needed. But then a man arrives on the scene, dropping his groceries. He’s yelling and grabbing firefighters and speaking in Spanish. The firefighters look confused, but Billy steps in, having learned Spanish from his friends and their doting mothers in California. 

When he learns that the man’s visiting elderly mother is still inside and that he doesn’t see her with the others, Billy doesn’t tell the firefighters. His first instinct is to save her. So he runs inside while the firefighters shout at him and he dodges falling debris until he gets to the third floor. He finds the woman quickly as she was trying to make it to the door. He picks her up and runs. He keeps running until he makes it to the ground floor. 

He hears everyone shouting to get back and he hears something about a gas main. And his instinct has him shielding the woman from danger. But then there is a sound that is so loud that it disappears as quickly as it comes and his vision goes white and then black. And he knows nothing else. 

It isn’t until he’s being taken out of the ambulance that Steve sees him. He gasps at the sight of the other man. “What happened?” He’s been triaging people left and right from the fire downtown, including an elderly Spanish woman who tells him how the blonde angel saved her. Fortunately, Spanish is his third language, English and Italian tying for first and second. Greek is a close fourth thanks to his paternal grandmother, but he hasn’t had much need for it in Detroit. 

One of the paramedics, Grace, who knows Steve well glances at him and runs down the vitals. “Cop went into a building to save a woman. Came out and an explosion fucked him up. He kept the woman safe, but he was out. We would have gotten him here sooner, but his heart stopped twice on the scene. Burned bad, but we didn’t assess completely before bringing him in.”

Steve barks out orders and it isn’t long before Billy is surrounded by people in a trauma room. Steve is cutting off his clothes while others are monitoring vitals and the doctor is preparing to intubate when Billy’s breathing starts to stutter. One code blue later, Steve sits down in a now empty room, medical supplies littering the floor. He looks at the crash cart that he’d run in when Billy’s heart had stopped yet again. The burns had turned out to cover a small portion of his body overall. The initial blast had knocked him clear, but the licking flames managed to grip onto his back, moving up to wrap around his shoulder. But though the space affected wasn’t huge, the burns were severe. Steve listens to the story of how Billy was on fire when he hit the ground and how some of his fellow officers jumped to put out the flames, burning their own hands in the process. 

Now he looks at his own hands… the hands that had pumped Billy’s chest while waiting for the charge that could bring him back, the hands that had held him down during a seizure, and the hands that are now shaking as the crisis ends. He puts those hands through his own hair and sits there, trying to pull his thoughts together and stop the anxiety that’s trying to take his breath away. 

But then one of his nurses leans in. “Steve! Four vehicle pileup coming in. Three kids involved.”

Steve looks up, but the nurse is gone before he can respond. He stands and makes the quick call to housekeeping to clean up the trauma room ASAP since they’re going to need it before the night is through. 

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

The third time that Steve sees Billy is the first time Billy sees Steve. 

It’s a domestic dispute call and Billy hates those most of all. They still trigger him a little bit. He’s worked hard to move past some of his father’s behaviors, but there are still some things that take him back. This call is one of the worst. 

Billy responds to the call of a neighbor screaming. The caller suggests that the husband is a mean son-of-a-bitch and the person screaming is his wife. Billy continues getting information as he turns on the sirens and races to the scene. By the time he gets there, the husband is choking his wife on the lawn and their young son is beating at his father’s back to get him to stop. If it wasn’t night, Billy may have seen the knife. But it _is_ night and Billy is focused on saving the woman. So when he grabs the kid to throw him out of harm’s way as his backup goes for the man, he grunts in pain as something sharp hits his side. 

Two of Billy’s colleagues have a hold of the husband and are yelling for medics, who have just arrived, to get over there due to the amount of blood they’re getting on them. One of the officers is also yelling for a medic for the wife while also taking time to tell her to breathe. But then there’s the kid. He can’t be more than 12 and he’s sobbing hysterically and looking and Billy and apologizing over and over again. 

That’s when Billy looks down to see the handle of a blade sticking out right under his vest. He sighs and looks t the kid. “Hey… Hey! Calm down. I’ve had worse.” He sits down and waves toward one of the officers. “Hey, got a stab wound. Might be why our guy is bleeding.” As the officer walks to the boy, Billy holds a hand up. “Hey… go easy on him. He was just trying to protect his mom. I startled him. That’s all it is.”

The officer wraps an arm around the boy and leads him to a cruiser while one of the medics from the two ambulances comes over to him. “Oh boy… you again.” She smiles. 

He frowns. “I know you?”

She nods. “Yeah, I responded after that explosion that nearly took you out a few months ago.”

Billy watches as she looks at the wound and starts to stabilize it. “You saved my life.”

She stops and glances up at him. “Yeah… one of them who did.” She sighs. “We’ll have to get you in to the ER and make sure there’s no internal damage.” She smiles then. “Name’s Grace.”

“Billy.”

She grins. “Nice to meet you, Billy.” She yells over at her partner and they’re soon getting him into a cruiser while they focus on the couple. “I’m gonna let one of your boys take you in. I’ll radio ahead.”

She’s gone before Billy can say thank you again. He’s not sure he’s ever met anyone who has literally saved his life before. He looks over as Matt, his captain’s son and one of the best damn officers Billy knows, hops in. “Looks like we’re going back to the hospital. Damn, man, you should just live there. Maybe your nurse will be there tonight.”

Billy frowns. “My… nurse?”

Matt smiles and starts up the cruiser, heading out with sirens blaring. “Yeah, it’s become kind of a habit to see that smile every time we walk in. Usually not much of a smile once we bring your busted up ass in there, though.”

Billy laughs. “Well, this isn’t so bad so I’m sure it will be fine.” He leans back and closes his eyes, each bump and jostle making the pain sting a bit more. By the time they get there, Billy is pale and his skin is clammy. “Hey Matt… I think something’s wrong….”

Matt’s eyes widen. “Shit! Okay, man… hold on!” He runs into the ER and Billy can barely hear him as he starts to pass out. But then the door opens and he nearly falls out except for the strong arms holding him. 

“Hey… hey, I need you to open your eyes for me, alright?”

Billy frowns and tries to do as he’s told, but it’s not easy. He moans softly and tries to let sleep take him. 

“Hargrove! Open your eyes, dammit!”

At the order, Billy manages to open them a little and looks up into some of the prettiest brown eyes he’s ever seen since….

Billy blinks a few times and then he’s definitely alert and awake. “Steve?!”

**Author's Note:**

> So excited for this chapter! If you're wondering if there's any whump!Steve, there is. It's in chapter 2. :)


End file.
